Named in honor of former director Luiz Muniz Barreto of the National Observatory in Rio de Janeiro, who stimulated the development of astrophysics in Brazil and was responsible for the creation in Itajubá of the Laboratorio Nacional de Astrofisica. He also established research groups in astronomy and geophysics, such as the Observatory of Piedade in Minas Gerais. In 1994 he went to the Universidade Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, where he is currently involved in geophysical research. In the 1970s the discoverer was regularly invited by Muniz Barreto to carry out research at the National Observatory and to teach astrophysics at the Universidade Federal of Belo Horizonte. (M 26766) _ _.